Concealed gun appeal to be heard Jan. 20

The Oregon Court of Appeals case of a South Medford High School teacher who was denied permission to bring a gun to school has been rescheduled for 9 a.m. Jan. 20.

The Oregon Court of Appeals case of a South Medford High School teacher who was denied permission to bring a gun to school has been rescheduled for 9 a.m. Jan. 20.

A string of winter storms that paralyzed northwest Oregon just before Christmas closed the court in Salem and postponed the case filed by Shirley Katz, who is identified only as Jane Doe in the court documents, against the Medford School District. It was originally set to be heard Dec. 23.

Katz, an English teacher who disclosed her identity publicly after first filing the case under a pseudonym, has a concealed handgun license for her Glock 9 mm handgun and wanted to bring the weapon to school.

The Medford School District has an employee policy barring guns on campus, but, with backing from the Oregon Firearms Federation, Katz challenged the policy.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Philip Arnold ruled last year that the district's policy barring guns on campus didn't violate the state law that prohibits cities and other governmental districts from regulating guns because the policy wasn't an ordinance.

Katz' attorney, James Leuenberger of Lake Oswego, is expected to argue that state law allows people with concealed handgun licenses to carry guns in public buildings and that only the Legislature can change that. Arguments are scheduled in the small tax court courtroom at the Court of Appeals.

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